Football Will Compete Or Compliment Christmas This Year

Depending on how you feel about this, The NFL will be competing with or complimenting your Christmas festivities this December.

13 KRCG TV is reporting that the National Football League will take advantage of Christmas falling on a Sunday this year and slate three games on Christmas. Two-afternoon games on CBS and Fox, followed by a primetime game on NBC. Kind of reminiscent of what the NFL does on Thanksgiving.

The NFL's Vice President of Broadcasting, Mike North, revealed the tripleheader while appearing on podcast hosted by Buffalo Bills sideline reporter Sal Capaccio according to the TV station's website article.

It's not the first time the NFL, or professional football in general, has been played on Christmas. 13 KRCG says it'll be the third straight year the NFL has scheduled a game on Christmas. And KRCG reports North told the podcast the NFL has done very well when they've scheduled games on Christmas. In fact, one of the Chief's most famous games ever, their 27-24 loss in double overtime to Miami in the AFC divisional round was a Christmas game.

Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about football on Christmas. It already seems to dominate the Thanksgiving holiday, now it seems like it's creeping in to take over Christmas. Of course, it's not surprising to me. These days the National Football League is big business. And Christmas is an opportunity for the NFL. And it's in their best interest to get the family around the television watching football on Christmas.

That's how Thanksgiving has gone for years. At some point after turkey time, the football fans would wander into my aunt's TV room and put the game on. My Uncle Matt would wind up taking an after-dinner "nap" in whatever bedroom's bed wasn't being used as a coat rack. And as a kid or teenager, I'd be sitting there bored to death waiting to go home. Hopefully to catch a dollar movie with friends, get together with a girlfriend, or whatever.

Christmas in the Creighton household was similar, except it'd take place at my folk's house. And many years the television didn't get turned on. (And yes, I was still bored.)

What bums me out about the NFL co-opting Christmas is their intrusion on another holiday, a time for people to get together and talk, tell stories, and be together. Football, for many years, has subverted that on Thanksgiving somewhat.

For us, it probably won't change our Christmas too much. We'll probably watch "Christmas Vacation" on Christmas Eve. Have a relaxing breakfast on Christmas morning. Open presents. Maybe decide to watch "Die Hard" which is definitely a Christmas Movie.

The NFL? Probably won't cross our minds, unless Mahomes and the Chiefs are playing and are, ya know, still magical to watch. But I'll feel bad for all the families that'll sacrifice a little bit of family time in favor of checking out the game. Because as much as the NFL, and some football fans won't like to hear it, there's more to life than football.